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Gaming laptops we recommend

You don’t even need to tell us what happened when you told your friends that you want to buy a gaming laptop. Their inner elitist got the best of them, and bashed you for not just building an outright gaming desktop. But we get you. Building a gaming PC takes knowledge and dexterity that you just don’t have or care to develop.

That’s where the gaming laptop shines, as a fast lane to PC gaming. No need to build a case or even buy a monitor. Of course, that convenience usually comes with a hefty price tag. Most vendors start their asking prices at around $1,400 (about £900, AU$1,900) for 13 and 14-inch products, whereas the biggest and beefiest 17 and 18-inch models can skyrocket upwards of $3,000 (around £1,900, AU$4,000).

If you’re ready to accept that a gaming laptop will almost never be as affordable or offer the same level of performance as a comparably-priced gaming desktop, then your decision is already made. But again, the gaming notebook is a device of convenience and portability over raw power. Without further ado, here are our favorite gaming laptops that we’ve reviewed thus far.

The Origin EON15-X is a real head turner. It packs a desktop processor into a fairly compact 15.6-inch laptop that, while smaller, offers even more performance compared to other, bigger hardcore gaming rigs. This extra CPU power is handy for users who need to edit video and other processor intensive tasks that a mobile chip can’t handle. You’ll also get an extra kick of performance in no matter what game you’re running. This machine is definitely worth consideration over all others.

The Gigabyte P35X v5 is a mighty powerful, 4K gaming laptop equipped. While most machines have failed to play games at Ultra HD resolutions, this 15-inch rig has come closest to making it a reality with speed Intel Core i7 processor and an Nvidia GTX 980M stacked with the maximum amount of video memory on a mobile GPU. All of this overwhelming power will see that you’re able to play 4K games at a decent 30 to 60 fps clip. All the while, the P35X v5 offers decent battery life to boot.

Entry-level gaming are a great introduction into the glorious world of PC gaming, and from performance to looks, it’s hard to beat the Lenovo Ideapad Y700. It’s an inexpensive machine that stands out amongst other budget gaming machines with its all metal chassis and included SSD. It also comes packed with enough power to run modern games at decent settings.

If you’re looking to jump into PC gaming on a budget, the HP Pavilion Gaming Notebook offers a Intel Core i7 and discrete graphics without breaking the bank. While that might not sound like a lot to work with, you’ll be able to play games at 30fps on Ultra. Going with a Nvidia GTX 960M configuration will also grant you enough power to hit the 60fps holy grail in almost any game so long as you knock your settings a peg or two below Ultra.

High on mature styling and light on weight, the MSI GS60 Ghost Pro is one of the thinnest gaming laptops you can buy. Don’t think this svelte machine has sacrificed performance for the sake of cutting weight. It still comes packed with a high-end Intel Skylake processor and graphics card to make it a one of the strongest platforms we’ve ever tested. Just make sure to stick with a 1080p resolution and medium to high visual settings.

The Asus ROG G752 has an aggressive design that sets it apart from many of the world’s sedate gaming laptops. Instead of donning the typical appearance of black plastic, the ROG G752 sports a shell with brushed aluminium panels, angular lines and the glowing red segments. On top of its in-your-face styling this 17-inch gaming laptop delivers a hefty performance and it can play modern games at a smooth clip even if you put the graphical setting to max. The only thing the Asus ROG G752 is missing is the option of a high-res 4K display.

The Acer Predator 15 is a monster of a gaming laptop in both presence and performance. While most gaming notebooks have become thinner and lighter, this 15-inch rig buck the trend, opting to pack in some of the best graphics and CPU parts on the market today. Thanks to an modular DVD drive bay, users can choose between equipping this gaming notebook with either an optical drive or an extra fan for extra cooling.

The MSI GT80 Titan goes above and beyond to give gamers a desktop experience in a notebook with a complement of high-performance parts to a built-in mechanical keyboard. However, weighing in at nearly 10 pounds and measuring roughly two-inches thick, this laptop is seriously pushing the limits of what you can call portable. For all the strain it’ll put on your back and wallet, though, this 18.4-inch gaming laptop absolutely plow through almost any graphically intense game you try to run. This gaming behemoth proved to be a monster with the best in class mobile GPUs so we can’t even fathom what it could do with a Nvidia GTX 980.

The Alienware 17 is one of those few outrageously priced gaming laptops that’s actually worth it. The notebook is a fully capable gaming machine on its own, but with the added power of desktop graphics through the GPU Amplifier it can play almost any game on Ultra settings.If you’re looking for something smaller, the Alienware 13 also works with the optional GPU box.

The Origin EON17-SLX takes gaming laptops to their ultimate conclusion of being portable desktops. This 17-inch notebook comes packed with a desktop-grade Intel processor and Nvidia GPU chip, making it one of history’s most powerful mobile machines. Of course, it comes with the sacrifice of portability in both weight and battery life. If these are worthy trade-offs for greater performance, you won’t find a better machine whether you’re a hardcore gamer to in the media creation business.

I really don't get why the companies that manufacturer gaming laptops seem to have completely given up actually designing them.

If I'm going to spend that kind of money, I want it to look as good as it performs, yet all of the above are cheap looking plasticy things.

Even Alienware have ditched their older metal designs in favour for cheap plastic casings, and it's not even as if their's a weight improvement with that choice. My old metal Alienware M17r3 is only marginally heavier, and marginally thicker, than the current crop.

The only one that doesn't look like a concrete slab, even if it weighs more like one (irrelevant to me). I wish Asus didn't do away with the G750 design, it's the best looking laptop I've ever seen. As a matter of fact, it's the only one that is flawless, while there is a very few others that look even decent.

yeah but 10.5 pounds? imagine being a college student and having that thing in a bag, + a binder full of paper and docs, and 3-4+ textbooks. you'd be hauling 50lb bag around like a construction worker moving cement bags by hand…..

I think Intel's ultrabook standard killed the gaming laptops as much as anything. Super-thin lacky performance ultrabooks are separated to their own area but get all the attention in retail. Companies once involved with gaming/high end desktop replacement laptops (often nailed it – Samsung, Sony) know nowadays full size laptops get stuck in a dark corner and have no chance at volume sales. These companies have either left the full size/performance segment behind or exited that segment altogether. Lenovo has veered toward "chineese cheap looking plastic crap" I don't like any of their stuff lately. Lenovo also seems abhorrent to using better quality, bright LCD panels (this is nothing new). This leaves the smaller "niche" manufacturers that never got huge numbers before **because** they just couldn't (lack engineering re$ources) or wouldn't (marketed to 15 year olds) nail in a good looking design with the right combination of hardware that makes us want to buy. I know what I want: Quality-look-form of the Samsung 680/880s with updated hardware and that bright beautiful touchscreen from the Sony Flip 15s (or the gorgeous display from the Sam 680 with a few extra LEDs to get that glossy screen a little brighter outside), yes it should flip into tablet mode **exactly** like the flip 15s..Sony nailed that one. The touchscreen assembly Sony used is actually made by LG, and it's really not expensive (unless you're a corporate CEO*accountant*caugh* absolutely determined to be cheap). Were buying high powered gaming/desktop replacements when not running games damn it I want a touchscreen, and I want to be able to sit near a window at Starbucks, and for $2000+ it better not look gawd awful compared to a $800 MacBook snoot in the next seat over. Macbooks are notoriously cheap and plastic (do they even use screws anymore or is the whole thing slapped together with elmers?) it's not difficult to make something that looks inherently nicer, especially closeup. Again: I blame Intel. They decided to act like a monopoly and dictate what the market is supposed to want by strict design specifications and marketing tactics (effectively punishing everything else) instead of just letting the market remain mixed and diverse. Intel is cutting their own throats in the long run. As ultrabook designs fall in price they'll need to revert back to "old faithful" HPC high margin chip sales. The problem with that is, we are 1 by 1 souring on the idea of a large stationary desktop rigs. The natural evolution is to high powered laptops which Intel seems determined to kill off if even unintentionally.

Number 3 the MSI GT80 Titan is by far the most powerful, dual 980m's hit similar framerates as a Single Titan X gpu. Also has a mechanical k/b which seals the deal gaming wise.

Easily the most powerful gaming laptop in the world.

The fact that whoever wrote this, says "I'd love to see what it could do with a desktop GTX980" is clueless. 2x 980m destroy a single desktop 980 by a long way. The writer is just lazy a quick google search would have shown he is wrong.

What about Eurocom? They make incredible portable workstations for engineers and a couple of 3d design laptops that have two video cards. One for everyday and one for serious work along with the added cooling fans and huge power. They also have a used list on their site which what I always look at. Some really good deals on machines without OS's. (Optional)

Why is Asus not on this list but HP is, and at that qualified as a gaming laptop to be at #4????? lmfao!!! Well whoever wrote this you can take your HP gaming laptop lmfao!!! I'll be on my Asus G752 thank you very much!! Obviously this article is just based on a persons choice of laptops in order of what they'd use and not so much in knowledge.